Water jet propulsion device

ABSTRACT

A water jet propulsion device for propelling boats and the like having a housing whose inlet, water passageways and outlets are in substantially a horizontal plane with water deflecting shoulders extending horizontally on each side of the housing whereby the device is only partially submerged in the water when in operation to reduce its resistance to the flow of water. A vertical wall in the housing divides the flow of water into two streams that impinge on water deflector members mounted at the outlet in order to steer the boat or cause it to move backwardly.

United States Patent [191 Schoell Sept. 10, 1974 WATER JET PROPULSIONDEVICE [76] Inventor: Harry L. Schoell, l96ll N.W. 39th Ct., Miami, Fla.33054 [22] Filed: July 13, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 379,198

[52] US. Cl 115/12 R [51] Int. Cl B63h 11/10 [58] Field of Search 115/12R, ll, l4, 16; 60/221 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,073,277 l/l963 Lee 115/12 R 3,478,712 11/1969 Fox 115/12 R PrimaryExamineF-Trygve M. Blix Assistant Examiner-Charles E. FrankfortAttorney, Agent, or FirmSalvatore G. Militana [57] ABSTRACT A water jetpropulsion device for propelling boats and the like having a housingwhose inlet, water passageways and outlets are in substantially ahorizontal plane with water deflecting shoulders extending horizontallyon each side of the housing whereby the device is only partiallysubmerged in the water when in operation to reduce its resistance to theflow of water. A vertical wall in the housing divides the flow of waterinto two streams that impinge on water deflector members mounted at theoutlet in order to steer the boat or cause it to move backwardly.

6 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures WATER JET PROPULSION DEVICE BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION l. Field Of The Invention.

This invention relates to water propulsion devices for boats and is moreparticularly directed to a water jet propulsion device.

2. Description Of The Prior Art.

There are generally two types of water jet propulsion devices for boatsin use at present, namely one which is completely submerged in the waterand the other which is mounted on a boat above the water. Both of thesejet propulsion devices are very ineffecient. The jet device that iscompletely submerged develops a great deal of drag and resistance due tothe water surrounding the jet pump, while the device completely out ofthe water must lift the water entering the device and change thedirection of flow of water which requires work being done on the waterin having it pass through the device thereby reducing the efficiency ofthe propulsion device. Also, these devices require that the structure ofthe boat be modified or changed to adapt the device to the boat. Somerequire a large opening be made in the hull and stern of the boat topermit the flow of water into the device. The present inventioncontemplates avoiding all of the disadvantages of the present water jetpropulsion devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a principal object of the presentinvention is to provide a water jet propulsion device which planes; thatis partially in the water causing the water to flow into and through thedevice in a substantially horizontal plane and thereby is most efficientin operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a water jetpropulsion device which is fastened directly to the transom of a boatwith only holes having to be drilled in the transom for the impellerdrive shaft and the control cables whereby the device may be' mountableon any type or size'of boat.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a water jetpropulsion device whose controls are simple in construction and readilymanipulated for maneuvering the boat in any desired direction.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a waterjet propulsion device that is only partially submerged in water with aplaning shoulder or member extending along both sides of the device atthe level at which the water enters the device whereby the water isdeflected so that it cannot flow over the device.

With these and other. objects in view, the invention will be bestunderstood from a consideration of the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, with the understanding, however, that the inventionis not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of thedrawings but may be changed or modified so long as such changes ormodifications mark no material departure from the salient features ofthe invention as expressed in the appended.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings: I 7

T FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of my water jet propulsion deviceshown mounted on the transom of a boat shown in part.

FIG. is a vertical cross sectional view taken along the line 2.2 of FIG.4.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view. FIG. 4 is a top plan view of myvdevice as shown removed from the boat. I FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are crosssectional view taken along the lines 5-5, 66 and 7-7'respectively ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 88 of FIG. 5. i

FIGS. 9-12 are similar views showing the different positions of thewater deflector members for steering.

the boat.

FIGS. 13-17 inclusive are fragmentary top plan views toillustrate theoperation of the steering mechanism to effect the different positions ofthe deflector members as shown by FIGS. 8-12 inclusive.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals are used to designatesimilar parts throughout the several views; the numeral 10 refers to awater jet propulsion device constructed in accordance with my inventionand shown in position fastened to the transom 11 of a boat 12 andextending rearwardly of the boat 12 with a water inlet opening 13 belowthe keel of the boat to permit a substantially horizontal flow of waterintoand through the jet propulsion device 10.

The housing of my jet propulsion device 10 consists of two castings -A-and -B- cast, separately and bolted together by bolts 14 for the sake ofproduction expediency. The front casting -A- which houses animpeller 15is provided with a flat support plate 16 which lies against the transom11 and is bolted thereto-by bolts 29. Extending from the support plate16 is a brace plate 17 that supports the somewhat cylindrical housing 18having inlet 13 and outlet 19 and a water passageway 20 extendingtherethrough. At the inlet 13 there is a plurality of spaced rods 30that permit water to pass therethrough but prevent objects from enteringthe passageway 20 that woulddamagethe impeller 15.

A tubular shaft support 21 extends from the support plate 16 to aposition adjacent the outlet 19 and has an impeller shaft 22 rotatablymounted therein with the impeller 15 mounted at its end. The drive shaft22 that is journelled by bearings 23 at each end of the .shaft support21 extends through an opening 24 formed in the transom ll of the boat 12where it is coupled as at 57 to a source of power such as an engine 25.Along each side of the casting -A- in horizontal alignment with the keel27 of the boat 12 are shoulders 28 forming water planing members whosefunction is explained hereinafter.

The casting -B- secured to the free end of the casting -A- by the bolts14 is cylindrical in cross section at its forward or connected endportion and rectangular at the rear end portion to form two separatedrectangular water passageways26. The water passageways 26 are separatedby a vertically disposed wall 31 that is rectangular in cross section atits rear portion. At the forward end portion adjacent the impeller 15,the divider wall 31 has been ground to a knife edge as at 32 and curvedalong approximately half the length of the vwall 31 to form a pair ofradially extending water flow straightening vanes at theforward portionof the divider wall 31. At right angle to the divider wall 31 and oneach side thereof is a pair of second water flow straightening vanes 33that extend from the forward edge of the casting -B- to the mid-portionthereof. On each side of the casting -B- there is a water deflectingshoulder 56 that extends diagonally from the top of the casting -B- atthe discharge end thereof to the shoulders 28 at the position of thebolts 14. The shoulders 56, as does the shoulders 28, prevent the waterfrom flowing over the device'10 as it moves along the water to reducedrag to a minimum.

' At the rear or discharge end portion of the casting -B- the dividerwall 31 is provided with a pair of vertically disposed arcuate slots 34that extend to the rear edge and receive arcuate water deflector members35 for steering the boat 12. The deflectors 35 are each provided withtabs 36 and 37 at the bottom and top ends that extend at right angle tothe deflector members 35. The lower tabs 36 are pivoted about a pivotpin 38 secured to the lower surface of the casting -B-. The upper tabs37 are provided with a stem 39 that extends upwardly through an openingand beyond the upper surface of the casting -B-. The free end of each ofthe stems 39 are secured to one end of a crank 40 while the other end ofthe cranks 40 have a pivot pin 41 rotatably mounted thereon.

The upper ends of the pivot pins 41 are received in a cam slot 42 formedin a cam plate 43. The cam slot 42 is symmetrically disposed on eachside of the cam plate 43 and forms a generally C shape with each stem 39so disposed as to slide only along one-half of the slot42. The cam plate43 is pivotally mounted by a pivot pin 44 for rotational movement, thepivot pin 44 being mounted on a slide bar 45 mounted for slidinglongitudinally along the top surface of the castings -A- and -B-. Theends of the cam slot 42 as well as the mid? portion thereof are idlingpositions and are formed as arcs of a circle with the pivot pin 44 asthe center of the circle. When either of the crank pins 41 arrives atthe end or center of the cam slot 42, the further pivotal movement ofthe cam plate 43 will not effect any turning movement of the deflectormember 35 connected to that cam pin 41. By virtue of this construction,upon pivotal movement of the cam plate 43 on its pivot pin 44, the crankpins 41 will be made to slide along the cam slot 42 to cause the cranks40 to rotate and the deflector plates to swing about their pivot pins 38and stem 39.

The slide bar 45 is guided in its sliding movement by a slot 46 formedin the slide bar 45 and a pair of pins 47 secured to the upper surfaceof the casting -B- and received by the slot 46. Each of the pins 47limit the sliding movement of the slide bar 45 in each direction uponthe pin 47 engaging the bar 45 at the ends of the slot 46. The slidingmovement of the slide bar 45 is controlled by a pull rod or cable 48secured as at 52 to the slide bar 45 and whose sheath 49 is secured tothe brace plate 17 by a clamp 50. The control cable 48 and sheath 49extend through an opening 51 in the transom l1 and extends to anoperating member (not shown). The control cable 48 which effects thesliding movement of the slide plate 45 and cam 43 controls the forwardand reverse movement of the boat 12 as well as placing the jetpropulsion device 10 in neutral as is ex- A sheath 55 in which thecontrol cable 53 is slidably positioned is fastened by a clamp 58 to theslide bar 45 so that sliding movement of the slide bar 45 does not causeany movement of the control cable 53 with relation to the cam plate 43.This arrangement of parts permits the actuation of either of the controlcables 48 or 53 without affecting the position of the other controlcable. The control cable 53 extends through an opening 59 formed in thetransom l 1 of the boat 12 and extends to a control lever (not shown).

In order to mount my water jet propulsion device 10 to the transom of aboat, all that need bedone is drill three holes or bores 24, 51 and 59for the drive shaft 22 and control cables 48 and 53 to extendtherethrough. Thenthe support plate 16 is bolted as at 29 to the transom11 with the planing members or shoulders 28 in horizontal alignment withthe bottom surface of the boat. The bottom as shown by FIG. 2 must bemade to taper upwardly as at 60 so that the planing shoulders 28 canplaced in alignment with the bottom of the boat 12 and there by anunobstructed horizontal flow of water into the inlet 13 of my water jetpropulsion device 10. 1 I

Only two controls are needed to effect the proper steering of my device10, which controls (not shown) are connected to the cables 48 and 53. Asillustrated by FIGS. 8-17 inclusive, actuation of the controls causingsliding movement of the cables 48 and 53 will effect the forward,reverse and all turning movements of the boat. FIGS. 8 and 13 show therelative position of various parts of the steering mechanism that causethe boat to travel straight ahead. In this case, the slide bar 45 hasbeen pulled forwardly to slide to its most forward position by means ofthe cable 48. The cam plate 43 which is pivotable about the pivot pin 44is square with the fore and aft axis of the slide bar 45 positioning thetwo deflector members 35 within the confines of the arcuate slots 34.Two streams of water will flow through the water passageways 26 andbeing discharged directly rearwardly, the boat will move in a straightforward direction.

If it is desired that the boat be made to move in a straight rearwarddirection, all that need by done is actuate the control that causes thecable 48 to slide the slide bar 45 to its rearmost position as shown byFIGS. 9 and 14. In this instance the forwardmost pin 47 will abutagainst the forward end portion of the slot 46 and the crank pins 41will have moved towards the ends of the C shaped cam slot 42. Thedeflector members 35 will have pivoted about their pivot pins 38, 39 outof the arcuate slots 34 and now extend across the outlet of thepassageways 26 leaving an opening 61 in each passageway 20 between theoutside vertical wall of the casting -B- and the edge of the deflectormember 35 to cause the water being propelled through the passageways 26to be discharged in a forwardly direction. This causes the boat 12 tomove rearwardly.

If it is desired to turn while moving in a forwardly direction, theslidebar 45 is made to slide to its forward most position and the cable 53 isactuated to cause the 44 as viewed in FIG. 15, the upper crank pin 41will slide along the cam slot 42 to cause the upper deflector member 35to partially obstruct one of the passageways 26 and compel the dischargeof the water at an angle to the device 10. This effects a turningmovement that will cause the boat to turn to the left as it movesforwardly.

To cause the boat to turn while moving in reverse, the slide bar 45 isbrought to its rearmost position and then causing the pivotal movementof the cam plate 43 in the direction it is desired that the boat be madeto turn. As shown by FIGS. 11 and 16, the rearmost positioning of theslide bar 45 causes the deflector members 35 to pivot out of the arcuateslots 34 and into the path of the water flowing through the passageways26. Upon actuating the cable 53 to cause the cam plate 43 to pivot aboutits pivot pin 44 in a clockwise direction, the deflector members 35 willpivot about their pivot pins 38, 39 to the extent that their respectivecam pins 41 slide along the cam slot 42. In this instance, the upper orleft deflector plate 35 will have pivoted more than the other so thatthe water being discharged through the passageway 26 impinging on theupper deflector member 35 will be deflected toward a more forwardlydirection than by the other deflector member 35 and so the boat willmove rearwardly and to the right.

If it is desired to place the boat in a neutral or nonmoving position,the slide bar 45 is caused to be moved to a mid-position between that ofits rearmost position as shown by FIG. 13 and its forwardmost positionas shown by FIG. 14. In this position the deflector members 35 will haveslid out of their arcuate slots 34 and extend part way across the outletof the water passageways 26. The water is so deflected that they flow atright angle to the axis of the device in two streams whose momentumcounteract each other to compel the boat to remain motionless in thewater.

As stated hereinabove the high efficiency of my water jet propulsiondevice 10 results from the fact that my device 10 is partially submergedin water to cause the water to flow in a horizontal direction into andthrough my device. Those of the conventional devices that are completelysubmerged in the water, though the flow of water therethrough ishorizontal, the resistance of the completely submerged device to itsmovement in the water is considerable and consequently less efficientthan my device 10.

Those conventional jet propulsion devices that are mounted on a boat outof the water incur a built in work load that consists of having to liftthe water into the device. This head reduces the efficiency of thedevice considerably and is known to be less efficient than my device 10.In my device, the inlet 13 is positioned at the keel or lower surface 27of the boat 12. As can be readily seen, water will flow horizontallyinto and through my jet propulsion device 10. Also, to reduce theresistance offered by the water that comes into contact with the outersurface of the device 10, the planing members 28 and 56 compel the waterto engage only the lower half of the device 10 by preventing any waterfrom flowing over the sides and top of the castings -A- and -B-. I

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

l. A water jet propulsion device for boats and the like comprising ahousing having an inlet and an outlet, a passageway communicating withsaid inlet and said outlet, water impeller means mounted in saidpassageway in proximity of said inlet, substantially vertically disposedwall means mounted in said passageway extending from adjacent saidimpeller means to said outlet forming a pair of ducts, a plurality ofwater deflecting members, said water deflecting members having a bladeportion, means pivotally mounting one of said blade portions inproximity of each of said ducts at said outlet, each of said bladeportions engaged by water flowing only through said duct at which saidblade portion is mounted, said vertical wall means having slots forreceiving said blade portions within the confines of said wall means andout of the path of water flowing through said ducts and control meansoperatively connected to said pivotal mounting means for steering aboat.

2. The structure as recited by claim 1 taken in combi' nation with saidpassageway being substantially horizontal and water deflecting shouldermeans mounted along each side of said housing preventing the flow ofwater over said housing as the boat is propelled through the water.

3. The structure as recited by claim 2 wherein said blade portions arearcuate and having a tab extending at right angle at each end of saidarcuate blade portions whereby said arcuate blade portions arepositioned out of the path of water flowing through said ducts whenreceived by said slots.

4. The structure as recited by claim 3 wherein said control meanscomprises a pair of crank members secured at one end to each of saidpivotal mounting means above said casing and having a crank pin at theother end, a slide bar, means mounting said slide bar on said housing, acam plate pivotally mounted on said slide bar, said cam plate having anarcuate slot therein, said crank pins being received by said arcuateslot whereby upon the sliding movement of said slide bar and said camplate both of said arcuate blade portions pivot simultaneously foreffecting the forward or reverse movement of the boat and the steeringof the boat being effected upon the pivotal movement of said cam plate.

5. The structure as recited by claim 4 taken in combination with aplurality of water flow straightening vanes mounted on each side of saidvertically disposed wall adjacent said impeller means and said edgeportion of said vertically disposed wall adjacent said impeller meansbeing knife edge and shaped to form further water flow straighteningvanes.

6. The structure as recited by claim 5 taken in combination with asupport plate mounted at said inlet portion of said housing, a driveshaft extending through said support plate, means connecting said driveshaft and said impeller means and control cables connected to said slidebar and said cam plate extending through said support plate.

1. A water jet propulsion device for boats and the like comprising ahousing having an inlet and an outlet, a passageway communicating withsaid inlet and said outlet, water impeller means mounted in saidpassageway in proximity of said inlet, substantially vertically disposedwall means mounted in said passageway extending from adjacent saidimpeller means to said outlet forming a pair of ducts, a plurality ofwater deflecting members, said water deflecting members having a bladeportion, means pivotally mounting one of said blade portions inproximity of each of said ducts at said outlet, each of said bladeportions engaged by water flowing only through said duct at which saidblade portion is mounted, said vertical wall means having slots forreceiving said blade portions within the confines of said wall means andout of the path of water flowing through said ducts and control meansoperatively connected to said pivotal mounting means for steering aboat.
 2. The structure as recited by claim 1 taken in combination withsaid passageway being substantially horizontal and water deflectingshoulder means mounted along each side of said housing preventing theflow of water over said housing as the boat is propelled through thewater.
 3. The structure as recited by claim 2 wherein said bladeportions are arcuate and having a tab extending at right angle at eachend of said arcuate blade portions whereby said arcuate blade portionsare positioned out of the path of water flowing through said ducts whenreceived by said slots.
 4. The structure as recited by claim 3 whereinsaid control means comprises a pair of crank members secured at one endto each of said pivotal mounting means above said casing and having acrank pin at the other end, a slide bar, means mounting said slide baron said housing, a cam plate pivotally mounted on said slide bar, saidcam plate having an arcuate slot therein, said crank pins being receivedby said arcuate slot whereby upon the sliding movement of said slide barand said cam plate both of said arcuate blade portions pivotsimultaneously for effecting the forward or reverse movement of the boatand the steering of The boat being effected upon the pivotal movement ofsaid cam plate.
 5. The structure as recited by claim 4 taken incombination with a plurality of water flow straightening vanes mountedon each side of said vertically disposed wall adjacent said impellermeans and said edge portion of said vertically disposed wall adjacentsaid impeller means being knife edge and shaped to form further waterflow straightening vanes.
 6. The structure as recited by claim 5 takenin combination with a support plate mounted at said inlet portion ofsaid housing, a drive shaft extending through said support plate, meansconnecting said drive shaft and said impeller means and control cablesconnected to said slide bar and said cam plate extending through saidsupport plate.